


Happiness in Misery

by LeedlingwithRageHappy



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, borderline bullying??, it's kinda twisted idk, lots of swearing, practice writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-24 17:12:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1612931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeedlingwithRageHappy/pseuds/LeedlingwithRageHappy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Joel's jokes go too far, Ray finally confronts the man, but nothing turns out like he wants or expects them to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Very loosely inspired by the song, "I Don't Care" by Fall Out Boy.

Ray was fuming. 

It took every fiber of his being not to lash out and tackle the man before him so he could wipe the smug grin off of his face. Ray ground his teeth together and clenched his fists before turning tightly and storming through the building. Everyone made sure to stay clear of Ray’s path and he marched back to the Achievement Hunter office where he promptly sat down and shoved on his headphones. No one said anything and Ray was thankful for at least that.

Now, it wasn’t as if Joel hadn’t made fun of Ray before. After months of teasing, Ray had finally got used to it and on occasion actually enjoyed the jokes, but this time Joel had gone too far. The older man probably didn’t even realize how close to home he had hit and Ray certainly was in no mood to explain it to anyone.

“Stupid, fucking asshole,” Ray muttered under his breath and chose the first game he saw just to distract himself, which luckily happened to be a first-person shooter. 

Ray unleashed hell on the NPCs, furiously mashing the buttons on his controller and channeling all his anger through that. He swept through the first campaign and then felt a tap on his shoulder.

“What?!” Ray said sharply and whipped his head towards the owner of the hand, who happened to be a very shocked Michael.

“Whoa, buddy, I come in peace.” Michael held his hands up and continued to give Ray an almost fearful gaze.

Exhaling heavily, Ray slowly took off his headphones and tried to smile apologetically. “Sorry. Got too caught up in the game.”

“What did he say this time?”

It was then Ray remembered that he almost always let Michael know whenever Joel’s jokes got a little too close to the edge or when the teasing bothered him in general. At first, getting Ray to open up took a lot of, “I’ll force it out of you if I have to,” on Michael’s part, but eventually Ray just let Michael know what was going on with no objections.

“He just-he crossed the line today,” Ray shrugged and ignored the jab at his mind. He looked up at Michael and saw the other man waiting expectantly.

“Fuck,” Ray sighed, not wanting to repeat Joel’s words. “Let’s just say by the time he got finished, being called a whore would’ve been a compliment.”

Michael’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth went slack as the room became hushed and Ray realized he might have said that louder than he wanted. He could feel all eyes on him and he squeezed his eyes shut, wishing the day to end right at that moment.

“Ray, let me talk to him,” Jack started and Ray’s eyes shot open.

“No!” he practically shouted, causing the other man to jump, and then cleared his throat. “No…I don’t want other people involved.”

“Fuck that shit. This is harassment,” Michael spat. Ray could see the fire in Michael’s eyes and the last thing he needed was Joel beaten to a pulp.

“It’s fine, I’ll take care of it,” Ray quickly cut in and hoped that would be enough to drop the subject at hand.

Michael huffed, muttering something under his breath before turning back to Ray. “Just….let me know if you need help.” Then, with a nod, Michael sat down at his desk, clearly letting the office know to go back to whatever they were all doing. 

It was times like these that Ray was grateful to have Michael on his team because he got shit done without all the hassle.

Ray slowly turned back to his computer and thought about what needed to be done. Avoiding the other man? Explaining? None of them seemed right in Ray’s mind and the anger began to grow again. Feeling like he was going to explode, Ray shot up from his seat and rushed out of the office. After a few directions from others, Ray finally found Joel standing alone, outside the RT building.

“You fucking piece of shit!” Ray exclaimed and shoved Joel harshly. “You had no right to make that joke or-no, that wasn’t a joke, that was a fucking insult!” Ray continued shoving and punching at Joel, not even caring how the other man was reacting to all of this. 

Suddenly, his wrists were grabbed and Ray found them pinned to his chest as Joel came dangerously close to him, his eyes unreadable.

“Ray, I’m sorry,” Joel said in a slightly harsh tone and Ray felt the grip tighten. “You never said anything about my jokes in the past so I thought-“

“You thought wrong,” Ray interrupted and tried to free his hands, but that made Joel pull him in even closer.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Ray could feel Joel’s breath on his face and he shivered as he tried to come up with an answer. As he thought back, he began to wonder why he never did speak up. The most he had ever done was counteract with a joke of his own or stutter out a lame reply. Sometimes, he felt like he had only trudged through the jokes just because that was the only time he really ever got to see Joel.

Which was a normal way to form a friendship, of course. Ray wanted to gag at the crap his brain was throwing at him.

“Do you hate me?” Joel’s voice had dropped and suddenly there was a look in his eyes that seemed to hold all the sincerity in the world.

Ray blinked and moved his mouth, but barely any sound came out. “I...I’m not…” Ray knew the cards were not in his favor and he still had no idea how to answer the older man.

Letting out a sigh, Joel let go of Ray’s hands and stepped back. “I’ll cut back on the jokes. It’s okay if you still hate me though. I got carried away,” he shrugged and rubbed his neck. “In all honesty, I don’t care what you think as long as it’s about me,” and before Ray could even react, Joel walked away and into the building.

Still frozen on the spot, Ray tried to juggle all that had just happened in his mind. He felt the world caving beneath him, but at the same time washing over like a tidal wave. His emotions twisted every which way and he rubbed his wrists, still feeling Joel’s grip on them.

“God damn it,” Ray groaned and buried his face in his hands. 

He absolutely did not like Joel in that way, he was just merely confused with how the situation had gone. Joel was a jerk who teased him in a very hot and attractive manner.

Ray eyes widened and he mentally kicked himself at this thought, frustrated with what he was coming up with in his mind. Whether he was fucked or just plain fucked up, Ray didn’t know and hoped he could figure it out later.

Joel Heyman. What a fucking catch.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all should go thank [xanzs](http://xanzs.tumblr.com) for the inspiration of this chapter and because he's just an awesome human being in general <3

True to his word, Joel did cut back on the jokes, but to an almost extreme level. Conversations with the older man felt forced in Ray’s mind and he felt like Joel was just being polite more than anything. As much as Ray hated to admit it, he was starting to miss the teasing, especially since Joel seemed to be putting on a façade whenever they would be caught in the same room.

Ray groaned quietly and ruffled his hair, trying to figure out just what Joel was trying to do now. That was probably the one thing Ray didn’t like about the older man. His unpredictability and slightly eccentric manner left much to the imagination and unfortunately for Ray, his creativity only went so far when it came to Joel Heyman.

“What now?” Michael sighed and Ray gave his friend a confused look.

“Huh?”

The Jersey man rolled his eyes and scooted his chair back so he could turn and face Ray fully. “Obviously something, or should I say someone, is bothering you otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting at your desk and staring at your computer screen. Your lunch break is halfway over.”

“What?!” Ray slammed his hands down and shot up from his seat, his eyes wide and disbelieving.

In a nonchalant manner, Michael shrugged and began swaying in his chair. “First you get pissed off at Joel’s jokes and now it’s like you’re missing him. Make up your damn mind, Ray.”

Ray narrowed his eyes, ready to shoot a comeback until he realized Michael was probably right. Calming himself down, Ray sank back down into his seat and took to splaying his arms in front of him and setting his face directly into the desk. 

“I don’t know, man. He’s a fucking asshole, but there’s something about him that makes me go back to him,” Ray said, his voice slightly muffled because of the position he was in.

“Geez, Stockholm syndrome much?” Michael mumbled and Ray whipped his head up, causing Michael to scoot back because of the piercing glare the Puerto Rican was giving him. “Easy there, tiger.”

Instead of attacking, Ray squeezed his eyes shut and then suddenly banged his head down on his desk with a rather loud thud. “Oww…” Ray whined quietly and he tried his best to ignore Michael’s attempts at hiding his laughter.

Once Michael had regained composure of himself, he slid back towards Ray and bumped his chair against the other’s. “I think you guys need to talk.”

“Talk?” Ray began slowly. “After he insulted me and after I nearly beat him up in the parking lot?”

“You said he apologized and it sounded like you really didn’t do much damage to him,” Michael said without skipping a beat. 

Ray finally leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, taking in Michael’s words.

“Plus, I’ve just concluded you’ve got it bad, dude. You’re crushing hard and you’re just dancing around the fucking situation. Let’s just say if you don’t talk to him soon, I’m going to lock both of you in one of the closets here and not let you out until you become boyfriends or some shit like that.”

Ray felt his eyes widen with each word that came out of Michael to the point where he had taken to staring at the Jersey man with a gaping mouth. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Michael gave Ray a raised eyebrow with a small grin before he jumped up, grabbed the Puerto Rican by the wrist and dragged him out of the office.

“Michael, no!” Ray protested and tried to wretch his hand free, but Michael’s grip was determined and a lot stronger than Ray expected. 

“Yo, Heyman!” Michael called out when they reached the kitchen area, luckily vacated by everyone except a certain actor.

The older man turned around with a confused look and Ray suddenly found himself being thrown at the older man where he promptly ended up bowling Joel backwards into the counter and Ray’s face practically buried in his chest. Angrily, Ray pushed himself off of Joel and whipped back around only to see his supposed best friend running off, leaving Ray in an awkward position.

“Well, that was…” Joel started and then didn’t finish the sentence as if he was trying to find the perfect word.

As for Ray, the Puerto Rican stood still, not wanting to face the other man, but trying to think of what to say as well. He knew Michael was right, but at the same time, Ray wanted to know why. Why Joel teased so much and why Ray actually found himself enjoying it until the last incident. Surely it wasn’t something dumb like a middle school crush. Deciding being direct would be his best option, Ray turned back to Joel and let out a heavy sigh.

“Why do you like to insult me?” he said and slightly winced at how harsh he sounded, but finding he didn’t really care all that much in the end.

Silence was exchanged and Ray felt himself getting impatient before Joel finally opened his mouth.

“I never mean to hurt your feelings. You’ve laughed at most of my jokes so I just thought I could up the ante, but I guess I have a tendency to get too personal.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Ray mumbled and still avoided looking Joel in the eyes.

“Hey,” Joel said softly and then Ray felt a finger under his chin. 

Ray was embarrassed at how quickly he followed the commands of Joel’s finger and he found himself now staring directly into the older man’s eyes. Ray gulped, his mind suddenly going blank while Joel’s look seemed calm and, dare Ray think it, as if he had complete control of the situation. Joel appeared so sure of himself that Ray felt weak at the knees, prey in the jaws of the wolf.

“Truth be told, I’m just a big, dumb idiot that wanted your attention.”

“My…” Ray’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “My attention?”

Joel’s finger began to trail from Ray’s chin and across his cheek, then tracing down along the younger man’s neck, causing him to shiver. “You’re always with your friends and even when I see you alone, you’re caught up in your own world. I had to think of something and making fun of you was the only thing that came to mind.”

Ray nervously clenched his hands, mentally kicking himself at how intrigued he was by Joel’s actions and the way his body seemed to want more. Then, he thought about what Joel had said and he felt conflicted. Joel’s words had hurt, but since he didn’t mean any harm, then maybe Ray could allow a few slip-ups. A bit of Ray’s anger came back and he caught Joel’s hand with his own.

“Alright. Number one, no more jokes that get all up in my personal life,” the Puerto Rican began with new confidence. “Two, if you want my attention so badly, all you need to do is just talk to me. I don’t just blatantly ignore people.” Ray saw Joel’s eyes flicker and he held back a smirk, seeing that he was now gaining control. “And three, Friday night, my place, pizza and video games?” 

Now it was Joel’s turn to be surprised and the older man stared at Ray like he had suddenly grown horns on his head. This made Ray chuckle and he gave Joel’s hand a squeeze before dropping it.

“Alright, I need to get back to work,” Ray nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Just remember that you really don’t need to try that hard to get my attention. Simple hellos will suffice. Oh and Friday after work, Joel, don’t forget.” With that, Ray decided to let Joel think about the situation and he quickly stood on his tiptoes, giving the older man’s cheek a quick peck to confuse him even more before heading back toward the AH office.

Ray’s accomplished look did not go unnoticed by Michael once he arrived and Ray shrugged, giving him a casual grin. Michael slowly took off his headphones and watched Ray sit down at his desk.

“It fucking worked, didn’t it?”

Ray let out a small laugh and got his game ready for the next video. “What can I say? Guess some of us can find happiness in misery.”

“Jesus, Ray.” Michael rolled his eyes and half-shoved the other man with his free hand. “You guys are fucked up.”

While Ray waited for the game to load, he couldn’t help but agree with Michael’s statement. What had happened earlier still left Ray in a daze, but secretly he decided it was a good kind of daze that he’d worry about later. As far as Ray could tell, he was in for one hell of a ride and he sincerely hoped that what he had just told Michael was nothing but the truth.

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know with this one...I just needed to hash it out...


End file.
